Circuit-breaker.



G. G. BADEAU.

CIRCUIT BREAKER. APPLIOATION FILED 113.19, 190s.

Patented May 30, 1911.

In ven tor 5414/64 (f'fiapa im-$ 1..

A ltomeys.

Witnesses secondary contacts.

UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

CHARLES BADEAU, OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA. ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO ROLLER-SMITH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or. NEW Yomr. I

CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Izli'pnfc d IMily 30, 1911. 1

Application filed February 19, 1908. Serial No. 416,765. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES 0. Batman, a'citizen of the United States, residing in Bethlehem, county of :Le'high, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Circuit-Breaker, of WlllCll' the following is a specification.

The object I have in view is the produc tion of a circuit breaker, which Wlll be cheaper and simpler than those heretofore employed, and which will avoid the usual These and further objects will appear from the following speci- 'ficat-i'on and accompanying drawings, considered together or separately. v

Figure l is asideelevation of a circuit breaker embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side View of a portion of the main arm and one of the contacts; and Fig. 3 is a section of a modified form of one of the contacts.

In all of the views like parts are designated by the same reference characters.

In carrying out my invention instead of .thensual laminated brush forming a main contact, ,wah protecting, secondary carbon .contacts,,I employ a s ngle pair of contacts,

4 which areadapted to carry the current and at the same. timetake the-iarc.

In the drawings, 1 is one of the contacts. In the embodiment illustrated it is the movable con-tact, and is carried upon the main arm 2. This contact is in the form of a cylinder or short rod, and is supported upon the main arm by a bolt 3, which may be a fillister head screw, as shown in Fig. 2, the

nut, so thatthecontactwill be pinched between-thesides ofcthemain arm and good electrical contact secured.. To assist in se- 'curing goodcontact, I-provide copper W351}- ers 4-'-4, on each side of the'contact 1, and in actual contact with the two parts of the mainarm, all the parts being drawn together and clamped by means of the screw 3.

Fig. 3 illustrates a tube 19 which passes through the cylinder from end to end. The bolt 3 passes through this tube. The ends of the tube are spunove1" against the washers i-t, campai ns washers against the carbon. The endsof th'tube are countersunkin the washers.

is weak mechanically, is hard to mold and is a poor conductor of electricity, therefore with but one contact made of this material only half of the objection is present. The mechanical weakness I reduce to the smallest point by employing the metal center tube and washers. clamping the carbon between the washers and holding it under compression, so that there will be no. .tensi'onal strains on the carbon, and sothat it will resist injury as much as possible. I obviate the difticulty of molding by making the carbon in the form of a short cylinder, which may be squirted to shape and made more homogeneous than it may be molded. The hole may be drilled afterward, as described By rounding off the edges the tendency-to break at that place isredu'ced.

The other contact 5 ('in 'the embodi-ment illustrated the fixed contact) 'is formed of a block of cast iron "or other crystalline metal. This block is preferably as wide as the contact 1. It is provided with curved notches 6-45 on each side, such notches being curved on a circle of the same diameter as the con tact 1.' The two notches on the block are preferred so that the block may be turned around after one'side dfit"i s:b.urn'ed away, but it is not essential tliat'it' been made. The end of the "blockdsf curved at 20, as shown. The ,block is supported upon a spring 7, which is clamped totlie base 8. This spring is of the proper, size and shape to carry the current and to press the block 5 against the contact 1 with suflicient pressure to cause proper contact. The spring 7 is clamped between plates 9 and 10 the said plates diverging, as shown, and t orming a space for the spring? toplay between. The plate 9 is so proportionedas to limit the play of the spring tothe prope gexten't, so" that the block 5 will beheld against the contact 1 with sufiicient pressure. The plate 10 is properly formed to limit the outward movement of the spring, so as to hold the block in proper position for engagement with the contact 12 The broken line illustrates the position of. the block and spring-when the block. A secondopening-mavbe arranged on the other side-of the block so that;.-the block maybe reversedi 'The main' arm 2 maybe moved by any suitable means, that illustrated being the same as illustrated in my co-pending application for patent, Serial No. 335,057, led September '18, 1906. In the structure illustrated themain arm is supported upon the main shaft 11, which is carried. in the housings 12. The arm is moved by means of a handle lever 13, which ;carries a roller "14, which is'caused to enby means of a conducting ribbon 17 which surrounds the main shaft 11, and has one l5--extreruity attached to the main arm and the other to the base, in the manner illustrated in my co-pending application, and also in my Patent No. 747,673, dated December 22,.

The spring 7 and plates 9 and 10 are so arranged that the spring is self-alining; that is to say, as the blook 5 moves to follow the carbon contact the notch on the block will i be kept in contact with such carbon for a short distance. Then the contact 1 will slide out of the notch 6 upon the curved end 20, striking the arc, the arc tending to fly upward. When the circuit breaker is closed the carbon contact l'will engage with the block, and preferably in the center of the notch 6, so that all of the surface of the notch will be in contact with the periphery of the carbon, and good electrical contact secured. a

By means of my improved switch the ordinary secondary carbon contacts are avoided, the main contacts carrying all the current and taking the are when the circuit is broken. Owing to the shape of the carbon contact 1, it may be turned aroundwhen it burns away so that a fresh surface may be presented to the other contact. Instead of carbon, some other material which is either infusiblesor which goes directly from the solid to the gaseous state on the application of intense heat may be used. anexample of infusible material, or material which goes directly from the solid to the gaseous state on the application of intense heat, there may be silicon or magnetite. Carbon I have successfully used. Instead of cast iron for the contact block 5, any other form of crystalline metal may be employed. In addition to cast iron, as an example of a crystalline metal, may be used cast zinc, some brasses made without tin and alloys of aluminum and zinc, and aluminum, zinc and antimony. I prefer cast iron, however, owing to its cheapness and high melting point. The advan age of crystalline metal" for this pur- ,pose is that when melted it turns to the globular form and flakes off. Amorphous metals, such as rolled copper, when melted will become hard, and the'melted port-ions adhere tenaciously tothe original substance,

thereby presenting a rough surface for engagement with the carbon to the injury of the latter. Owing to the shape of the block 5, it may be reversed and the other side brought into contact with the carbon when the first side becomes burned away.

A further advantage of my invention is that I am enabled to produce a circuit breaker for rough work and for machine shop practice generally for operating motors used in connection with tools. Under such conditions it is necessary to make and break the circuit frequently so as to secure a small movement of the motor. The ordinary circuit breaker with laminated contacts is utterly unsuited for this purpose owing'to the arcing across the terminals, which will destroy the laminated structure in a short time. The ordinary rheostat is'also unsuited for this purpose, owing to arcing across the segments of the commutator.

It is impossible to use both contacts of carbon, as with such contacts the carrying capacity cannot be obtained that is necessary for-commercial conditions. By employin one contact of carbon and the other of meta% the necessary carrying capacity is obtained, and at the same time the wear caused by arcing is cheaply repaired.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of my invention, .together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative and that the invention can be carried out in other ways.

' Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A circuit breaker having one contact in the form of a yieldingly supported block having a concave portion and a rounded head, and another contact in the form of a cylinder arranged to cooperate rstwith a" rounded head'an'd then with the concave portion of the first mentioned contact when the circuit breaker is closed.

2. A circuit breaker in which the total amount of current iscarried by means of two contacts of dissimilar material, one or; which contacts being infusible, or that class of material which goes from the solid 'to the gaseous state on the application" of intense heat, and the other contact being formed of a metal which when melted turns to the globular form and flakes ofi'.

3. A circuit breaker in which the total amount of current is carried by means of coacting contacts of dissimilar material, one of these contacts being of carbon, and the other contact being of a metal which when miplted turns to the globular form and flakes 0 4. A circuit breaker in which the total amount of current is carried by co-acting contacts of dissimilar material, one of these contacts being of carbon, and the other contact being of cast iron.

5. A circuit breaker having one contact in the form of a carbon cylinder, and the other in the form of a metal block, the said block having a curved notch on the side which engages with the carbon the said notch being curved upon a circle oi the same diameter as the cylinder.

6. A circuit breaker having one contact in the form of a carbon cylinder, and the other in the form of a metal block, the said metal block having curved notches on each face, and means tor supporting the block, the said means ermitting removal of the block and reverslng it so that the other side can be brought into contact with the carbon.

and washers of metal connected to the tube,

the tube being under stress and causing the Washers to exert compression upon the carbon.

8. A circuit breaker in which one contact is in the form of a cylinder of carbon with a center tube and end washers, the ends of the tube being spun over and in contact with the washers.

This specification signed and witnessed this 14th day of February, 1908.

CHARLES C. BADEAU.

Witnesses:

LEONARDI'I. DYER, JOHN L. LOTSCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

